motorbike hire

steven_ber

does any member know what chance i have of hiring a motorbike in goa, (colva or madgoan).

one slight problem, i dont have a licence.

will a little baksheesh help, and what are the chances of getting a pull from the police (late february), ive heard some bad stories about police in goa.

any advice would be welcome.

thanks.

jamz

There will be hundreds of locals willing to hire you a motorcycle at a cost of about 300rps a day seems to be a going rate, the police can fine you for not having an international driving license about 3000rps I think but I don't know anybody who ever got stopped!

latisharma

It worth taking your chances.. but dont qoute me on this.

if the police catch you dont get hostile just pretend not to understand and get some restaurant guy or some one from the tourist trade to help you out. those guys are on good terms with the police... if you know what i mean.

Ashok

Hi Steven

Do you have a car driving license ? This would do in Goa. Most of the time, however a European tourist with a passport during the tourist season (Oct - April) can get away without even a license, but this is very risky.

You can hire a scooter for about Rs. 200/- a day and if more than a week , possibly can negotiate Rs. 150/- . Motorbikes go for Rs. 300/- and for longer terms Rs. 250/-.

If you are travelling anywhere in North Goa, (Calangute, Candolim, Anjuna , Vagator area) you should be OK without a license. Stay away from the main cities and towns.

If you need any other help, write back to me. We'll see what we can do for you.

nonPlus

im currently staying in colva (which im told is far less crowded than the northern cities) and i rented a motorbike. the shop i rented from was very much concerned about my lisence which i do not have. they stressed the fact that the police would "**** me" if i got caught. anyway, i was heading north and pulled in to stop for a drink just as a goa police truck pulled in behind me. i got off and walked quickly away. i didnt know what to expect, so i would like to know if anybody out there can help me to know what to do if i get stopped. (there were 3 older police men in the police truck and they waited some time before they left. i dont think they even exited their vehicle.)

Shark

motorbike hire in Goa is very simple. However, I would encourage you to get an International Driver's Licence.

I have been stopped by police in Goa at a road block on the way to the Anjuna markets.

The first thing I was asked was for my International Driver's Licence, which I had.

I also had a receipt of hire which documented who I had hired the bike from.

The police were very polite and friendly and once I had supplied the information there were no problems and off I went.

I suspect it may have been a different story if things were not in order.

Cheers Shark.

picklepak

Off-season (or even during high season, if you rent for a week or more) you can get a Honda Kinetic or a Yamaha with gears for about 100 -/Rs. Enfields (if you want to be a superstar or simply need to go long distances over seriously pot-holed roads, it's the best bike) and the Honda CBZ will put you back 250 to 300 -/RS.

If you see the police flagging you down, your best bet (seriously!) is to not even stop if at all possible. Act naive and innocent. Unless they're standing right in front of you. Worst case if you do get stopped without any license at all is some baksheesh. Otherwise your car license should be fine. Stay cool and don't pay too much. If you get it over with quickly maybe 100 Rs. will do.

And when they find that you don't have your bike's papers, tell that it's your "friend's bike" and thus you don't need to have them with you so don't pay any baksheesh. Just give them the guy's name at the place you rented from and say he's your friend.

Get an international driver's license if you can, I always carry mine with me (along with the bike's paperwork -- but many people have neither and are also carrying drugs). In India your best bet is to just avoid the police at all costs. Don't even ask them for directions, I say.